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BBB Book Review & Giveaway The Blood Of Olympus

Sunday, 2 November 2014

Now things are more or less back to normal, I'm trying to get back into some of my regular posting habits. I still have some wedding-y DIY posts to show, but I also want to do some of the things that BBB was always about, before things got all married off around here.

I used to do a book review regularly every month and I'm not only back with a review, but also a giveaway too!

I've talked about Percy Jackson novels before, when I downloaded the entire first series to my Kindle to take on holiday and I also picked it as my choice for Alex's A Blogging Good Read. I was sad when the original series came to an end but accepted that's what happens.

I then discovered Rick Riordan had created a whole new series featuring the infamous Jackson and the Greek Gods, but this time incorporating their Roman counterparts. More mythology! Excellent! I've always loved Greek Mythology, however I was never really aware of Roman mythology and how they were so similar to the Greeks, so the comparatives throughout the series have been really fun.

The Blood of Olympus* is the final book in the Heroes of Olympus series. The Earth Mother Gaia is about to rise and destroy all the Gods and demigods - both Greek and Roman. The Greek and Roman demigod camps are on the brink of war, and the only thing that can stop all this occurring is a group of seven demigods, thrown together by the Goddess Hera, who also though it would be a good idea to wipe Percy's memory and make him Roman. By now Percy is fully re-immersed in his Greek self but suffering the aftermath of a wander through Tartarus (the most horrifying and deepest echelons of the Underworld.)

The final book in any series is bound to be fast-paced, leading up to the climatic ending, however I found the ending just a bit too fast. It felt like it happened over the space of two chapters, and it was hard to see exactly how things took place at times. There was a definite feeling within this book that the characters had matured throughout the course of the series, aside from Leo, who actually towards the end of the book started to irritate me slightly, although, on reflection he was perhaps the most accurate portrayal of a 15 year old boy!

Clearly if you've read the rest of the series its a bit of a no brainer for you to read this one, as not finishing a series is akin to not finishing an individual book for me - I have to know the end! I obviously wouldn't recommend you pick this up as your first delve into the world weaved by Rick Riordan, as there is reference to past books which will confuse the hell out of you.

What isn't necessary is a prior knowledge of the first series. It is useful, but only a handful of characters feature, and there is enough re-capping to catch you up, that you won't feel you're picking something up midway through.

Which leads my nicely on to my giveaway! I have a copy of the first book in the Heroes of Olympus Series, The Lost Hero to give away to one lucky winner! In order to enter, please comment below with how you follow my blog (come on it's only fair!) and what you're currently reading, so I can add some new reads to my to be read list! Also it would be useful if you could leave a twitter handle or an email address so I can contact you if you are the lucky winner. I will close the giveaway on 16th November at 12pm GMT and draw names out of a hat!